Park Hill Vet: They’re Watching You
Don’t Let Your Pet Fall Victim To These Stalkers
By Dr. Margot Vahrenwald
For the GPHN
Did you ever feel like you were being watched by something? And, it’s not a pet trying to score a treat.
Why is she asking this creepy question, you ask? Because you and your pet/s are being watched every day – we’re the perpetual prey for a great variety of disease-causing or -carrying organisms. So, what are our top threats in the Denver metro area, indoors and outdoors?
Number one is rabies. Rabies is an incurable viral disease of mammals and can be simply prevented with proper vaccination of your cats and dogs, which is required in all jurisdictions. In Colorado, we have terrestrial rabies — with big vectors being skunks and raccoons. And, we also have several species of insect-eating bats that are reservoirs for rabies virus. They love to live in the eaves of homes in established neighborhoods like Park Hill.
Number two is heartworm disease. Thanks to a wet spring, we have a huge number of mosquitos — all of the species in Colorado can carry heartworm that can be transmitted to your dog. Cats can also contract heartworm disease, but their rate of disease and diagnosis is much less than in dogs. And it’s not just whether a pet goes outside, as mosquitos love the indoors too.
Prevention is the best medicine. Make sure your dog has a heartworm test every year as it also screens for common tick-borne diseases. Keep them on heartworm preventative year-round to provide protection against not only heartworm, but also intestinal parasites. Have a discussion with your veterinarian about your cat’s lifestyle risks to determine if there is a need for testing and preventative for your feline friend.
Always on our radar is Leptospirosis. This bacterial disease is well established along the Front Range and can also be a cause of disease in humans. Once thought of as a rural disease of large dogs, we now see it most commonly in urban and suburban areas and it can affect any size dog. The bacteria is shed in the urine of a variety of small mammals and our dogs pick it up from either contaminated water or soil.
Dogs can be protected against Lepto with annual vaccination and new vaccination guidelines now consider this a core vaccination in areas of risk.
Tularemia, or “rabbit fever,” is a rising concern again this year as the weather has created an opportunity for rabbits to reproduce rapidly. Human and canine symptoms are similar and include sudden fever, diarrhea, muscle aches, joint pain, dry cough, swollen lymph nodes and progressive weakness. Disease transmission is via a bite from an infected tick, deerfly or other insect, as well as handling infected animal carcasses, drinking or eating contaminated food or water or breaking in the causing bacteria, Francisella tularensis.
Lastly, tick-borne diseases are also on the rise. Ticks have survived and thrived since the dinosaur age. They are vectors for numerous diseases that can affect dogs and humans. The Ixodes species of ticks which carry Lyme disease are now well established as well as the Lone Star tick, which carries Ehrlichia and Tularemia.
Dr. Margot Vahrenwald is the owner of Park Hill Veterinary Medical Center at 2255 Oneida St. For more information, visit www.parkhillvet.com.